May 3rd is Public Radio Day

Happy Public Radio Day! What better way to commemorate this day than a little history? Keep reading to learn a little bit more about this popular public service.

When you hear the term 'public radio', you might think about your local public radio station. Or you might think about the state-run radio stations that are the norm in many nations around the world. Though television and the Internet are ever more popular, many people still rely on the radio as a source of news and entertainment.

In the U.S., public radio refers to noncommercial broadcasts that are funded through a combination of listener and government support. Though public radio is funded in part through grants from federal and local governments, public radio stations and content producers in the U.S. function independently from government influence.

Like many technological advances, including the Internet, radio technology was mostly used for government, military and academic purposes before it became widely available to the public. Radio as we know it started its evolution in the early 1900s, and the first regular, non-commercial, non-governmental radio broadcasting was done by a station at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. This station, 9XM (now known as WHA), started broadcasting in 1916. These broadcasts were not what we hear today; instead, they were mostly Morse code signals.

In 1917, non-governmental radio broadcasts of all kinds were halted in the face of World War I. After the war ended, radio technology had grown and changed enough to transmit voices and music. The 1920s saw radio stations born out of colleges and universities, mostly. In the 1940s, the lower range of numbers in the FM band were set aside for educational and non-commercial purposes, arguably kicking off the designation that was to set public radio apart from other types of radio.

In 1967, President Johnson signed the Public Broadcasting Act, which catalyzed the formation of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). The CPB is a non-profit organization funded by the federal government, and its activities cover both radio and television public broadcasting. The formation of the CPB helped to formalize the association between public radio stations, and this association eventually led to the founding of National Public Radio (NPR). NPR has evolved since its founding in 1970 into a major media organization that produces and syndicates informational and educational content across the nation.